The Life Is Beautiful festival—the centerpiece of the Downtown Project led by Zappos C.E.O. Tony Hsieh with the goal of revitalizing downtown Las Vegas—returned to the town’s urban core October 24 to 26 for a lineup of music, food, art, and a TED-style learning programing. The sophomore edition of the event drew 90,000 people—a huge increase over last year’s 60,000 at the festival debut.
This year’s festival changed—and grew—to accommodate the demand and improve flow. Here’s a look at some of the changes.
1. The festival grew to three days.
After last year’s two-day bow, the event expanded to a three-day program, from Friday to Sunday. First, this allowed for attendees to get the lay of the land—the festival footprint takes over a sprawling downtown environment— but also to spread out the offerings so that attendees who purchased tickets for the entire program would have a more robust experience.
This year’s regular three-day passes went for $249.50, and V.I.P. access went for $595, plus fees. Tickets for new after-concert shows and a “Grills and Guitars” kickoff event were extra. Those numbers approach the price of a much more established festival like Coachella. Nevertheless, with the vast majority of paying attendees opting to buy the full access instead of single-day passes last year, the hefty all-fest-pass price was justified. (This year's purchase breakdown is yet unavailable.)
2. The festival got a new footprint—and more grass.
This year’s festival once again converted downtown streets into festival grounds, but the footprint was new and different.
“Every year the footprint of Life Is Beautiful will be completely unique, because instead of working with a blank canvas like a park or open areas that can be fenced, we take over an ever-evolving urban landscape with preexisting buildings, roads, and infrastructure,” festival founder Rehan Choudhry said in a statement. “We have the opportunity to incorporate and really highlight the distinctive aspects of a growing downtown Las Vegas.”
With the cooperation of the City of Las Vegas and the Downtown Project, the Life Is Beautiful perimeter was an L shape that incorporated blocks from Las Vegas Boulevard to 10th Street, and Carson Avenue to Mesquite Avenue. More than 25 businesses within the footprint, including many new ones that opened since last year’s festival like Container Park, became part of the festival’s activations and events.
Because of the urban layout, organizers estimate each attendee and staffer or volunteer walked about 30 to 35 miles during the course of the festival.
Another new addition, the festival added multiple grassy areas for attendees to sit and get a more lounge-like festival feel. In all, there were about 70,000 square feet of grass, trucked into the space in the form of sod.
3. The music lineup diversified.
Life Is Beautiful bills itself as a four-pronged festival, and some elements of the learning lineup—like crowd-favorite appearances by Pussy Riot and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai—drew significant attention. But it's the music component of the festival that garners the most buzz, and this year’s program mixed things up.
Hip-hop artists including Kanye West and Outkast took top billing alongside festival-circuit standbys like the Flaming Lips. Also on the schedule were the likes of Lionel Richie, who had appeal for an older generation. Overall, the lineup appealed to a crowd of diverse interests—apt for a festival with the stated mission to celebrate all kinds of human experience.
“We’ve expanded this year in every way possible, but among the most meaningful to our team was the heightened integration of three of our four core pillars: food, art, and learning,” Choudhry said in a release. “Music is always a big draw—and this year’s acts knocked it out of the park—but to see guests coming to the site specifically to taste food from our award-winning chefs, hear speeches from world-class lecturers, and soak in the beauty of our murals and installations means a lot. It proves that we’ve taken a big step towards our goal of showcasing many types of artistic endeavors in one single space. This event is designed for those who see or who seek the beauty in life, and I believe they left our footprint inspired and stimulated.”
